Students in the Program < Click to go back

Jeff Grace, BS Civil Engineering, University of Rhode Island, MS planned in Environmental Engineering

Jeff was born in Berlin, Vermont and spent his childhood in the small town of Waterbury. Following high school, he spent a year at Proctor Academy in Andover, New Hampshire playing hockey and trying to decide what he was going to do with his life. At Proctor, he was exposed to a curriculum centered on environmental science and sustainability issues. Sticking with his love for ice hockey, Jeff decided to travel to Rhode Island where he could continue to skate and get a degree in the meantime. Jeff’s life took another u-turn when he received a nomination to attend an International Mission focused on the Environment. During the summer of 2004, he traveled to Brazil with a group of students from around the country. The experience was a major impact on his life and he knew he had found his calling. In his final two years on college, Jeff focused on environmental topics in water and wastewater treatment and managed to win an American Colligate Hockey Association National Championship with the school hockey team. On January 2, 2005 his life changed forever, when he was introduced to a beautiful girl named Jennilou. She was more than Jeff had ever dreamed of and luckily she was willing to go out with him. The two discovered the Peace Corps in an international development class they were taking and immediately the idea excited them. After speaking with a recruiter, Jeff found out about the Master’s International program at Michigan Tech and scurried to improve his grades.

After graduation, Jeff struggled with the idea of leaving his life behind and decided to defer his application to the Peace Corps and take a job in Vermont with Forcier Aldrich & Associates. He was assigned as a resident engineer in Pownal, Vermont where he lived in solitude at the Knotty Pine Hotel. His decision to reject the Peace Corps began to haunt him as he lay awake at night in the bizarre edifice. As winter neared, Jeff began pleading with his boss for a few months off from the excitement of the corporate world. Luckily, his aspirations were fulfilled, and he and Jennilou headed off to Honduras to volunteer for Pure Water for the World. As spring sprung, the two found it ever so hard to drag each other back home. Quite sure that the Knotty Pine was not the life for him, he struggled through the summer before packing his bags for Michigan.

Currently, Jeff is taking classes focused on sustainability issues and environmental engineering. In his spare time, he has found multiple hockey teams to play for and enjoys rock climbing as a new hobby. While eager to find out where he may be headed next year, Jeff is also looking forward to his upcoming wedding in New England and the chance to serve together with Jennilou. f